Recaps

Li Ping'an, Monk Changqing, and Old Ox reached the Vast Sea but struggled to find a ship to Cloud Province. After half a month of waiting, Li Ping'an found a newspaper notice seeking companions for the journey, and he and Old Ox went to meet its author.

• Li Ping'an and Monk Changqing ate loach noodles in Shayu County, then learned about the Sea Sacrifice Festival and watched fishing boats head out to sea.
• Li Ping'an and Changqing searched for a ship to Cloud Province for several days, but found none, and Changqing grew restless while Li Ping'an remained calm.
• Changqing told Li Ping'an that his composure made him realize his own cultivation still fell short.
• Li Ping'an bought a tabloid and had Old Ox read it aloud, discovering a notice from someone seeking companions to travel to Cloud Province.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox left to find the person who had placed the notice, while the vendor realized that the ox could read.

Li Ping'an persuaded Zhou Youcai to accept him as a companion on his voyage by explaining that exploration was about the journey and the people and growth it brought. Zhou Youcai agreed to take Li Ping'an and Changqing across the sea to Cloud Province, though Changqing ended the night without the silver Zhou had offered him.

• Zhou Youcai rejected applicants who could not explain the meaning of exploration, while his steward turned Li Ping'an away because he was blind.
• Zhou Youcai offered to give Li Ping'an money and send him away, but Li Ping'an said he had traveled from Great Sui and asked to answer Zhou Youcai's question.
• Li Ping'an said exploration had no meaning in itself and spoke about adventure, courage, and moving forward, impressing Zhou Youcai.
• Zhou Youcai welcomed Li Ping'an into the expedition and drank with him.
• Li Ping'an introduced Zhou Youcai to Changqing and said Zhou could take them across the sea to Cloud Province.
• Zhou Youcai offered Changqing a chest of silver, but when Changqing hesitated, Zhou ordered the servant to take it away.

While staying with Zhou Youcai, Li Ping'an discovered that he could absorb Spirit Stones and turn their energy into strength, apparently nourishing his Mud Pellet. As Zhou Youcai prepared to travel to Cloud Province, Wen Tao and Zhang Song joined the group, leaving the journey set to begin with several familiar companions.

• Zhou Youcai explained that Spirit Stones sustained his health, and Li Ping'an absorbed one by touch despite not being a cultivator.
• Li Ping'an borrowed a bag of Spirit Stones from Zhou Youcai and discovered that he could absorb their energy into his Mud Pellet, then returned the drained stones.
• The next morning, Zhou Youcai took Li Ping'an and Changqing to see their ship, where they encountered Wen Tao seeking to join the trip to Cloud Province.
• Li Ping'an persuaded Zhou Youcai to let Wen Tao travel with them, and Wen Tao offered to repay the favors Li Ping'an had shown him.
• Zhang Song arrived and asked to join the journey, claiming he would protect the group.

Li Ping'an traveled by ship toward Demon-Suppressing Pass with Zhou Youcai, Zhang Song, and Wen Tao, passing a quiet half-month at sea. After the ship struck a fog-hidden island, the group went ashore, and Li Ping'an asked Wen Tao to spar so he could test his strength.

• Zhou Youcai bid farewell to his father as the great ship set sail, and Li Ping'an learned that he and Zhang Song were both bound for Demon-Suppressing Pass.
• Zhang Song explained that the wealthy Zhou Family descended from the renowned God of Wealth, while Zhou Youcai revealed he had thirty storage bags full of supplies.
• After half a month without incident, Zhang Song complained of boredom, and the ship struck an island hidden in thick fog.
• Zhou Youcai chose to stay on the island for a few days, while Zhang Song went off exploring and Wen Tao practiced the Sky-Supporting Fist.
• Li Ping'an declined Wen Tao's invitation to join the Shijun Sect and asked him to spar.

Li Ping'an sparred with Wen Tao and endured a fight that left him exhausted, then recovered overnight and explored the island with his companions. As the age of great contention unfolded across the Nine Provinces, Li Ping'an remained focused on their northward journey and wondered when the Vast Sea would end.

• Li Ping'an asked Wen Tao to suppress his strength to second rank, then fought him until Wen Tao raised his strength to third rank and defeated him.
• After resting overnight and recovering some strength, Li Ping'an asked Wen Tao to spar again.
• Li Ping'an, Wen Tao, Zhou Youcai, Changqing, and Old Ox explored the island, where Wen Tao killed a wild boar for dinner.
• Changqing drank soup made from wild vegetables and collapsed after poisoning himself, while Wen Tao said he would recover after sleeping.
• Li Ping'an reflected on the turmoil spreading across the Nine Provinces, then went to sleep and wondered when the Vast Sea would end.

Li Ping'an declined to enter a dangerous cave, then urged the desperate Lord of the Land to gamble on its treasure. After a divination showed grave misfortune, the Lord of the Land found Li Ping'an's coin had changed the reading and flew off to break the formation.

• Old Ox led Li Ping'an to a cave with a warning stele, but Li Ping'an left after his coin landed upright.
• The Lord of the Land told Li Ping'an that a fallen dynasty and vanished island had left him stranded without incense power, and he sought a chance to survive.
• Li Ping'an revealed that a treasure lay behind a Mountain-Guarding Grand Formation and challenged the Lord of the Land to risk his life for hope.
• The Lord of the Land cast his daily divination and saw grave misfortune, then noticed Li Ping'an's coin had transformed the reading into a chance to turn misfortune into good fortune.
• Liu Kan thanked Li Ping'an and flew off to break the formation.

Li Ping'an and his companions sailed on after leaving the island, where Liu Kan discovered that the Wolf Demon had been killed by a sword strike. As a storm battered Zhou Youcai's ship, Old Ox warned that it would explode, but the ship blew up before Li Ping'an could act.

• Zhang Song boasted that he had slain several Sword Cultivators, but Monk Changqing exposed his story as an exaggeration about a Demon Wolf.
• Two months after Li Ping'an and the others left, Liu Kan thanked Li Ping'an, then found the Wolf Demon's decapitated corpse and traces of Sword Qi.
• Zhang Song asked Li Ping'an to teach him the erhu, while Zhou Youcai challenged Li Ping'an to a game and overturned the board after losing.
• A violent storm battered Zhou Youcai's ship for two days as Changqing clung to Old Ox and the passengers struggled to stay upright.
• The steward planted gunpowder in the ship's bottom, and Old Ox warned Li Ping'an that the ship would explode, but it blew up moments later.

An explosion destroyed the ship and threw Li Ping'an, Old Ox, Zhou Youcai, and Wen Tao into a violent sea. Li Ping'an used his brush to calm the storm, and the survivors reached a small island, where they learned the ship had been deliberately blown up and most of the passengers were likely dead.

• An explosion sank the ship, and Li Ping'an surfaced with Old Ox while Zhou Youcai struggled in the waves and Wen Tao fought the storm with his fists.
• Li Ping'an used the Knight-Errant Brush and three characters reading “Halt” to unleash One Stroke Determines Heaven and Earth, stopping the wind and waves.
• Wen Tao carried Li Ping'an, Old Ox, and Zhou Youcai to a nearby island, where Li Ping'an recovered using the Turtle Breath Technique.
• Wen Tao returned with a chest of cured meat and reported finding one dead survivor, while the ship’s other passengers remained missing.
• Li Ping'an told Zhou Youcai that someone had blown up the ship to harm him, then urged him to focus on what they should do next.

Li Ping'an and his companions built a raft from three dugout canoes and set out across the Vast Sea toward Cloud Province. After meeting the old turtle Qiheng and sharing his wine, Li Ping'an gained a guide who pulled the boats toward their destination.

• Li Ping'an, Zhou Youcai, Wen Tao, and Old Ox gathered supplies and spent seven or eight days building and preparing three joined dugout canoes.
• The four companions set out across the Vast Sea, with Wen Tao sometimes pulling the boats while standing on the water.
• Old turtle Qiheng approached the boats, attracted by the wine, but fled when he saw Li Ping'an's Knight-Errant Brush.
• Li Ping'an shared wine with Qiheng, who introduced himself and grew familiar with the group.
• Qiheng fastened the boats' rope to himself and began towing them toward Cloud Province, making their journey several times faster.

Li Ping'an and his companions completed their sea journey to Cloud Province after days of cultivation and sparring. As they parted from the old turtle, Li Ping'an secretly left it a precious snake gallstone, and the grateful turtle wished they would meet again.

• Li Ping'an practiced controlling Fine Rain, which caught a large fish for their meal, while Wen Tao and Li Ping'an sparred on the sea.
• The group watched countless white-robed cultivators fly past on swords, and Zhou Youcai wondered when he would be like them.
• Li Ping'an spent the voyage cultivating and jokingly used his supposed ultimate techniques, Reverse Yin and Yang and Time Reversal, to undo Zhou Youcai's overturned game board.
• The old turtle brought the group to Cloud Province a day early, and Zhou Youcai celebrated their arrival after the difficult journey.
• Zhou Youcai offered the old turtle his bracelet, but the turtle refused; after Li Ping'an and the others left, it found the snake gallstone he had secretly left behind.
• Li Ping'an revealed that he had kept six of the nine snake gallstones taken from Flood Dragon Tong Zisheng.

In Cloud Province, Li Ping'an and his companions performed street tricks to earn money for food before Wen Tao parted ways with them. That night, assassins attacked their inn, but Li Ping'an's flying sword drove them off.

• Li Ping'an had his group perform for the crowds, with Wen Tao breaking a stone slab and Old Ox delighting everyone with acrobatics and dancing.
• The group earned enough to feast at an inn, where Wen Tao said goodbye and headed back to the Shijun Sect.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox shared a room with Zhou Youcai, who looked forward to setting off early the next morning.
• Assassins crept into the inn to kill Zhou Youcai, but Li Ping'an's flying sword struck one and forced the attackers to flee.

Li Ping'an escorted Zhou Youcai toward the Zhou Family branch in Yu City and foiled several attempts to kill him. After defeating a Third Rank Qi Refining Practitioner sent by Zhou Youcai’s half-brother, Li Ping'an continued the journey with Zhou Youcai and Old Ox.

• Li Ping'an set out with Zhou Youcai and Old Ox for the Zhou Family branch in Yu City, taking a forest path because their travel papers had been lost at sea.
• At a tea stall, Li Ping'an stopped a disguised attacker from stabbing Zhou Youcai, then left after warning that someone was pursuing them.
• A red-robed woman used Zhou Youcai’s birth information to track him, and her young master followed the misleading trail west.
• At a ruined temple, the young master ordered his servants to attack Li Ping'an, who broke their swords with his fingers.
• Li Ping'an struck down the young master before he could draw his sword and learned he was a Third Rank Qi Refining Practitioner, then continued traveling with Zhou Youcai and Old Ox.

Li Ping'an left Zhou Youcai with his family in Yu City and traveled north to Stone Mountain. There, he confronted the bandit chief Golden-Eyed Biao, whose crimes he read aloud before the gathered bandits.

• Zhou Youcai reunited with his maternal second uncle outside Yu City and thanked Li Ping'an for saving him.
• Li Ping'an slipped away from the reunion, bought wine, and continued traveling with Old Ox.
• The story described the poverty and lawlessness of northern Cloud Province, where Golden-Eyed Biao's bandits terrorized villages.
• Golden-Eyed Biao forced a captive woman to dance while her husband hung from a noose, and the bandits planned to abuse her.
• Li Ping'an entered the bandits' den, drank their wine, and identified Golden-Eyed Biao by his real name and crimes.
• Golden-Eyed Biao challenged Li Ping'an, preparing to fight him.

Li Ping'an wiped out the bandits on Stone Mountain, brought their heads and the abducted women to the Qingshui county office, and claimed the bounty. After the townspeople thanked him with gifts, a servant led him to the rear garden, where an old patriarch in gray robes waited with two burly men.

• Li Ping'an killed the bandit chief and leaders inside the hall, then used the sword from his Wine Gourd to slaughter the bandits outside and free the abducted women.
• Li Ping'an escorted the women to the Qingshui county office and presented the bandits' heads and wanted notices to claim the reward.
• The magistrate confirmed the bandits' identities, paid Li Ping'an, and hosted a feast that included food for his ox.
• The townspeople thanked Li Ping'an for ending the bandits' abuses and gave him food and other provisions.
• A servant led Li Ping'an to the rear garden, where an old patriarch in gray robes sat with two burly men, while the magistrate was absent.

Li Ping'an killed the gray-robed Qi Refiner behind the Stone Mountain bandits, collected the promised bounty, and continued traveling with Old Ox. After bounty hunters pursued him for killing the county magistrate, Li Ping'an escaped by having Old Ox leap across a mountain ravine.

• The gray-robed old man attacked Li Ping'an with his guqin, but Li Ping'an resisted the sound-based technique and killed him with a finger jab to the throat.
• Old Ox returned the fleeing county magistrate, who paid Li Ping'an five silver ingots and a piece of gold before pleading for his life.
• Li Ping'an took Spirit Stones and a Qi Refining manual from the old man, discovered that absorbing the stones gradually was more effective, and continued on with Old Ox.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox followed a map from the magistrate's home, realized they had gone the wrong way, and turned back.
• Two bounty hunters and their companions confronted Li Ping'an and chased him up a mountain, but Old Ox leaped across a seventy- or eighty-foot gap to escape them.

Li Ping'an escaped another ambush by Cloud Province bounty hunters while carrying a table, then shared a meal with Old Ox and continued cultivating on the road. He hoped to reach Demon-Suppressing Pass soon without facing more hunters.

• A tavern waiter tried to lure Li Ping'an inside, but Li Ping'an recognized the ambush as another attempt to capture him for a reward.
• Li Ping'an fought off the crossbowmen, disarmed the head of Five Tigers Breaking Gate Saber, evaded the spear-wielding middle-aged man, and escaped with a table.
• The old man and the middle-aged man wondered why Li Ping'an had carried off the table, then cursed him when they realized he had escaped.
• Li Ping'an and Old Ox ate the food from the table, and Old Ox admitted that reading the map upside down had caused their earlier wrong turns.
• Li Ping'an absorbed three Spirit Stones, cultivated, and played his erhu while Old Ox slept; he hoped to reach Demon-Suppressing Pass soon.

Li Ping'an reached Three Locust Tree Village and learned that a monster had made the northern mountain road impassable, but he decided to head there with Old Ox. Two young Daoists also arrived at the mountain, where they sensed a powerful demonic aura.

• Li Ping'an asked for water in Three Locust Tree Village and learned from a villager that a monster had driven people away from the northern road.
• The villager explained how silver-based taxes burdened his family, and his daughter Niuniu asked Li Ping'an to stay for more good meals.
• Li Ping'an left the family a large silver ingot, but Niuniu cried when she discovered her saved candy was gone.
• Li Ping'an headed toward the mountains with the candy in his mouth, while Old Ox complained that it had not gotten any.
• A Daoist man and woman reached the mountain and sensed a strong demonic aura; the woman wanted to report back to their Master, but the man trusted their Demon-Slaying Sword.

Li Ping'an met two young Daoists, Zhou Baoshan and Lin Xuan, who planned to slay a demon in the mountains, and fed them before they set off. The next day, he continued north and struck a woman who tried to seduce him with a brick after she and two men staged an apparent rescue.

• Li Ping'an met Zhou Baoshan and Lin Xuan, who warned him about a powerful demon in the mountains and said they had come to slay it.
• Li Ping'an caught fish and cooked a meal for the hungry Daoists, who ate before leaving to hunt the demon.
• After Zhou Baoshan and Lin Xuan failed to return overnight, Li Ping'an set off again with Old Ox.
• A woman in white ran to Li Ping'an for help while two bare-chested men chased her, and Li Ping'an knocked the men into trees with a light tap.
• The woman tried to seduce Li Ping'an, but he struck her on the head with a brick.

Li Ping'an defeated the Spider Demon’s ambush and used his sword to break into her cave just as she was about to kill Zhou Baoshan. The Spider Demon was gravely wounded, while Zhou Baoshan remained trapped and poisoned.

• Li Ping'an revealed the Spider Demon’s disguise, dodged her attacks, and wounded her with his Flying Sword.
• Lin Xuan and Zhou Baoshan awoke bound in the Spider Demon’s cave beside Zhang Song and dozens of drained victims.
• Zhou Baoshan broke free of his web, but its poison left him unable to move as the Spider Demon prepared to bite him.
• Li Ping'an used the word "Swift" to send his sword through the cave’s Formation and wound the Spider Demon with Sword Qi.

Li Ping'an reunited with Zhang Song after saving Zhou Baoshan, Lin Xuan, and Zhang Song from the Spider Demon's cave, then traveled with Zhang Song toward Demon-Suppressing Pass. After days on the road, they reached the wilderness near Jingmen Mountain, with the great fortress almost in sight.

• Li Ping'an met Zhou Baoshan, Lin Xuan, and Zhang Song outside the cave, where Zhang Song explained how he had survived the shipwreck.
• Li Ping'an gave the poisoned travelers wine from his Sword-Nurturing Gourd, and Zhou Baoshan and Lin Xuan recovered and thanked him for saving them.
• Li Ping'an told Zhou Baoshan and Lin Xuan to take the Spider Demon's remains back to their sect, then departed with Zhang Song for Demon-Suppressing Pass.
• Li Ping'an and Zhang Song traveled through the mountains while Zhang Song boasted about his past and explained that he was saving his Sword Qi for a sword delivery and later battles.
• Li Ping'an practiced the Erhu on a mountaintop, improving his skills and gaining a special effect for Swallow Piercing the Clouds.
• Zhang Song announced that Jingmen Mountain was ahead and that Demon-Suppressing Pass was nearly within reach.

Li Ping'an saved Xiao Jun from two young men who dropped her from the sky, then traveled with her and Zhang Song toward Demon-Suppressing Pass. As they crossed Jingmen Mountain, Zhang Song explained its three religious institutions and the rules for travelers, and the group neared their destination.

• Li Ping'an caught Xiao Jun as she fell, while an unseen force killed the two young men who had abducted her.
• Xiao Jun told Li Ping'an she was headed to Demon-Suppressing Pass to find her young master, so he gave her a pair of straw sandals for the climb.
• Xiao Jun eventually put on the sandals and found the steep mountain path easier, though she mostly rode on Old Ox.
• Zhang Song described how White Horse Temple, Chunqiu Pavilion, and Wenchang Academy guarded the routes across Jingmen Mountain and warned Xiao Jun to keep quiet at Demon-Suppressing Pass.
• Zhang Song and Li Ping'an said they were almost at Demon-Suppressing Pass as the group continued onward.

Li Ping'an and his companions waited for a flying boat to Demon-Suppressing Pass, where a wealthy sect lord's grandson demanded Xiao Jun as his maid. Li Ping'an left the choice to Xiao Jun, who struggled to answer.

• Li Ping'an, Xiao Jun, and Zhang Song arrived at the flying-boat queue, and Zhang Song failed to get them permission to cut in.
• Li Ping'an prepared a barbecue, and Baoshan's young grandson joined Xiao Jun to eat.
• Baoshan's servant offered to buy Xiao Jun and identified Baoshan as the peak lord of Three-Nothing Peak in Qing Province.
• Li Ping'an told Xiao Jun she could refuse, and she hesitated over what to say.

Li Ping'an protected Xiao Jun from Baoshan by invoking the backing of Huailu Academy and its Knight-Errant Brush. He and his companions then boarded a flying ship, which brought them to Demon-Suppressing Pass.

• Xiao Jun refused Baoshan's attempt to buy her, and Li Ping'an used Jing Yu's name and the Knight-Errant Brush to make Baoshan back down.
• Baoshan slapped his grandson for demanding Xiao Jun and left with the boy and his servant.
• Li Ping'an reassured Xiao Jun, and Zhang Song and Xiao Jun resumed eating with him.
• Jing Yu entered a pleasure alley in the Capital City and gave the madam Li Ping'an's name.
• Li Ping'an and his companions boarded a flying ship, which descended through the clouds and revealed Demon-Suppressing Pass.

Li Ping'an, Xiao Jun, and Zhang Song ate at an expensive restaurant in Demon-Suppressing Pass and had to wash dishes to pay their bill. As Li Ping'an settled into life at the pass and waited for Gu Xizhou’s arranged fight, he reflected on the purpose and gains of his journey.

• Li Ping'an, Xiao Jun, and Zhang Song enjoyed a meal at a restaurant, then scrubbed dishes when they could not afford the bill.
• Li Ping'an and Zhang Song washed dishes past midnight, and the innkeeper arranged a place for them to sleep and told them to continue working the next day.
• Li Ping'an reflected on the ordinary, everyday struggles of life and practiced visualization through the night.
• Li Ping'an led Old Ox on walks around Demon-Suppressing Pass and observed its cautious cultivators and the hazy lands of the Demon Race beyond it.
• Li Ping'an sat atop a tower as snow fell, thought about Gu Xizhou’s upcoming fight, and considered the gains from his journey.

Li Ping'an sought paid work at the Myriad Affairs Pavilion, where he impressed an attendant despite having no cultivation and accepted a small commission. At the client’s home, he heard that a sow’s cries in the night were the problem he had been hired to investigate.

• Li Ping'an followed the innkeeper’s advice and visited the Myriad Affairs Pavilion to look for work that paid Spirit Stones.
• Li Ping'an demonstrated his strength to the attendant, who allowed him to choose a commission from the first floor.
• Li Ping'an registered a fifteen-low-grade-Spirit-Stone commission and left his Sword-Nurturing Gourd as collateral.
• Li Ping'an overheard that three people had been found skinned with their hearts removed, but went to his own client’s residence.
• The middle-aged client explained the matter, and Li Ping'an asked why the sow kept screaming miserably at night.